One-way-street traffic signal



Feb, 26, 1924. 1,484.840

E. H. MEDEN ONE-WAY STREET TRAFFIC SIGNAL Filed June 117 1922 ,mtlmm whee Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

ihidd d id ELOF H. MEDEN, OF SHORT HILLS, NEW JERSEY, ASSTCGNOR T0 AMERICAN GASAG- CUMULATOR COMPANY, OF ELIZABETH, NEVT JERSEY, A CORPGRATIGN OF NEW JERSEY.

ONE-WAY-STEEET TRAFFIC SIGNAL.

Application filed. June 17, 1922. Serial No. 568,977.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELOF H. Man-1 in, a subject of the King of Sweden, and a resident of Short Hills, in the county of Union and Stat of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in One-Way-Street Traffic Signals, of which the following is a specification.

The handling of vehicular traffic in cities, particularly the crowded portions or sections thereof, it is a somewhat difiicult problem, on account of the great numbers of automobiles, trucks and the like which are moving to and fro through the streets, and in many cities, in an effort to simplify and obtain better control of such trafiic, one-way streets have been established.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a mechanical means for indicating to the traveling public that a street is a oneway street with respect to vehicular tra .c and to indicate further the direction in which such travel may move through such street.

The general object of the invention is to provide means for facilitating traflic in crowded sections of cities and for relieving the police and others of a great deal of work which must now be done by them in directing traflic through the proper streets.

A further object of the invention is to provide means of a character which is adapted to stand out prominently within or adjacent such one-way street and which also is adapted to present signals to approaching vehicular traiiic by which the attention of such traffic is arrested.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the detailed description which follows or will be apparent from such description, and in order that the invention may be readily understood and its practical advantages fully appreciaved, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the signaling device and of the upper portion of the pedestal or standard on which it is supported; and

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Referring to the drawing: 1 designates the pedestal or support for the signaling and directing device which comprises a hollow head 2 within which a suitable light is adapted to show either in flashes or continuously. Such light may be of any character desired, as for instance, a'gas burning light produced by a burner such as the burner 8 indicated in dottedlines in 1 of the drawing.

The hollow head 2 is provided with four openings 5 and 6, as indicated, arranged within the four quadrants or segments of the globular hollow head 2, or in other words, in ninety degree relation with respect to each other. The openings 5 are closed by means preferably of translucent plates or sheets such as frosted glass 7, while the openings 6 are closed by means of concentrating or other lenses 8 any preferred or known construction. The lenses 8 are of difierent colors, one being red, as indicated, and the other green. The former indicates that trafiic must not move or travel upon the street in a direction opposing the red signal. The green signal indicates that the street is open and free to tratiic moving or traveling toward such signal. The peripheral edges of the plates 7 and of the lenses 8 are secured to the spherical head 2 inwardly of the walls thereof so that in the case of the plates 7 they are situated wholly inwardly of the planes of the outer edges of the openings in the head 2 while in the case of the lenses 8 only the central portions of the outer spherical surfaces thereof project beyond the planes of the outer edges of the openings in which they are situated.

Assuming that a trai'dc signal of the character above indicated is located upon a street: a person approaching the same and observing the red signal would thereby be informed that he could not travel further in that direction on that st eet, but if in approaching the said signal he observed that the green signal was facing him. he would thereby be informed that traiiic in that direction on the said street was open and that he was free to continue in that direction. As a further indication of the direction in which traffic is permitted to move or flow arrows 10 are provided upon the translucent plates 7 within the openings 5.

The presence of the openings having the translucent plates 7 therein permits the emission of light rays so that the signal also operates as an illuminating device for pcdestrians, because the said openings 5 and the translucent plates 7 face transversely of the street the vehicular traffic on which is controlled and guided by the signals or information given by the lenses 8. 7 Although these lenses are described as being red and green respectively, it will be un derstood that they may be of other different contrasting colors.

The essential idea of the invention is that the device shall be provided with means of the character indicated to inform vehicular traffic as to the direction in which trafiic on a certain street may move, combinedwith means whereby illuminating rays may be emitted in directions substantiallv at right angles to the direction of the emission of rays through the said means.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a device which is well adapted for use upon or adjacent one-way streets for directing and controlling the vehicular trafiic upon such streets.

Having thus described a my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a one-way street traffic signal, the comdegree relation with respect to each other,

light transmitting means in and closing two of the said openings which are situated in opposed relation to' each other, one of the said light transmitting means. being of a color to arrest trafficr moving toward the same and the other being of a color to permit the forward movement of trafiic moving toward the same, sheets of light transmitting material situated in and closing the other two openings, said sheets having means thereon to indicate the direction in which vehicular traffic may move, the outer peripheral edges of .said lenses and said sheets being situated inwardly of the walls of'the said head, and li hting means within the said head, substantially as and for the purpose described. 1

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have hereunto signed my name this 14th day of June, A. D., 1922.

'ELOF H. MEDEN. 

